[rdcbn]

Wasn't the fact that Obama was half foreigner and lived most of his formative years in Asian Muslim country touted as a major benefit

[Steve_Seattle]

"Wasn't the fact that Obama was half foreigner and lived most of his formative years in Asian Muslim country touted as a major benefit?"

Bingo. Yes, they said it made him cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world, a man who understood how the rest of the world thinks. Of course, despite his years living abroad and his years as a professor, he somehow managed to avoid learning any language other than English.